Contents

Proposed Canon

On Erfworld, things which seem to have no practical function can perform a symbolic function. For example, Gobwin Knob has a "bank", which is simply an empty building. By occasionally stepping inside this "bank", Parson can "inspect" the "bank", which makes Gobwin Knob's economy more productive.

Since there is no pregnancy and there are no babies in Erfworld, heirs are popped, Nookie also seems to have no practical bearing on poppingWoT-4047518. However, it may serve an important symbolic function. According to Parson's discussion with Maggie, it would seem that the technical act and, erm, "Tools" involved are much the same.

Speculation

While Nookie serves no biological functions, it may be considered to serve social functions like with bonobos.
It has also been speculated that it can influence the traits of a popped unit when an heir or noble unit is involved. Namely, Jillian and Vinny's involvement is speculated to have a bearing on the personality/temperament of the FAQHeir currently in production.

Nookie could be a form of Natural Date-a-mancy. In addition to the aformentioned possible influence on heirs, the nature of the emotions involved with such an act could both build and destroy relationships, not only between individual units, but also sides. A study of who is (or is not) engaging in Nookie with whom and why may give a breakdown of relationships between units and how to use that against the units in question.

Analysis

There certainly appear to be real emotional attachments associated with these pairings, as evidenced by the complexities of the relationships between Wanda, Jillian, Ansom, and Vinny. However, it is unclear how deeply these emotional bonds run, and it may depend on the individual. That said, there have been multiple cases in which "love" and nookie coincide, and those conflicting emotions, particularly when combined with the ability of ruler, warlord and caster units to exercise freewill, may have changed the outcomes of engagements (Wanda not croaking Jillian at the Tower of Efdup, or Jillian's capturing Ansom at the Expository Bridge).